Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A)

Cash residing in Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.B+1.3%), (BRK.A+1.1%) coffers rose to $55.5B as of June 30, more than double the amount Warren Buffett has said he likes to keep on hand should the company's insurance units face unusually large claims.

Berkshire's size is not just a hindrance to finding a needle-moving deal, but so is the perky stock market. Also, Berkshire isn't the only one out there looking for deals. "The amount of dry power is unprecedented," says a private-equity advisor, and the pile of money (estimated at $1.16T) has led to warnings from Blackstone's Tony James and Apollo Global's Josh Harris about paying too much for acquisitions.

Utilities that meet takeover criteria outlined by Warren Buffett this weekend for another “major” acquisition after paying more than $5B last year for electricity provider NV Energy include Wisconsin Energy (WEC+1.8%) and Alliant Energy (LNT+1.1%), Bloomberg speculates.

WEC and LNT operate in states with favorable regulatory environments, and LNT is expanding into renewable energy, which Buffett has signaled could be a focus for large investments, according to Morningstar; pipeline MLPs such as Plains All American (PAA) and MarkWest Energy (MWE) also could appeal to Buffett, a Baird analyst says.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) “is likely looking at a lot of small, regulated utilities that have a lot of growth on the table where his low cost of capital is an incredible advantage,” Morningstar's Mark Barnett says.

BNSF's plan, unusual for a railroad which generally owns only the tracks and locomotives that pull trains, is intended to further the industry's push for safer movement of crude by rail in light of several recent derailments and crashes, including one involving a BNSF train in North Dakota last December.

BNSF isn't identifying railcar makers from which it will seek bids, but U.S. manufacturers include Trinity Industries (TRN+9.5%), American Railcar Industries (ARII+10.3%) and Greenbrier (GBX+5.4%).

For Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B), the purchase of Phillips 66's (PSX+2.9%) specialty products unit has a lot to do with the tax treatment; the financial terms of the deal look like the cash-rich spinoffs used by Liberty Media when it acquired interests in businesses such as the Atlanta Braves and DirecTV.

The cash-rich split is a way for a holder of appreciated stock - PSX has gained 45% YTD - to dispose of it in a very tax efficient way, tax expert Robert Willens says, calling the acquisition a "great transaction" for Berkshire.

But Barron's Ben Levisohn wonders what the purchase might say about PSX: BRK chose to pay with ~19M PSX shares it already owns and not with cash - is it a sign Warren Buffett thinks PSX has run too far?

Siemens (SI) +2.9% premarket after agreeing to sell 448 wind turbines and provide service for several years to MidAmerican Energy, Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A, BRK.B) power business, in SI’s biggest-ever order for land-based wind equipment.

Wind turbines typically cost ~$1M for each MW of capacity, making the deal worth more than $1B, the head of Siemens Energy’s wind power division says, without providing an exact price.

MidAmerican will equip five wind power projects in Iowa with the wind turbines and provide energy for nearly 320K homes.

SU doesn't have the same transportation issues as some other oil sands producers, a Morningstar analyst says; it has locked up more than enough pipeline and rail capacity to move its current and planed production for several years.

NV Energy (NVE) +22.4% AH after agreeing to be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) subsidiary MidAmerican Energy for $23.75/share, a 23.2% premium to today's closing price. Upon completion of the deal, MidAmerican will have assets of ~$66B and its regulated electric and gas utilities will serve 8.4M customers.

"We've bought a number of companies that have traded higher temporarily higher," Buffett tells CNBC after noting Heinz (HNZ) is currently trading at $72.90, a premium to the $72.50 price Berkshire (BRK.A) and 3G set with HNZ. "They're not going to get another penny out of me," the Oracle promises.

More on the Berkshire (BRK.B+2.3%) buyback: The seller of the $1.2B in shares reportedly may be board member David Gottesman. The sale could potentially save Gottesman hundreds of millions of dollars should Buffett get his wish of higher taxes next year.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) raises the value at which it will repurchase shares to 120% of book value, from 110% previously. Coincident with that news is the purchase of 9.2K shares of Class A stock at $131K each from the estate of a long-term shareholder. 120% of book is approximately the $87-$90 range for the "B" shares, which are +1.6% to $88.68.

Fresh off yesterday's blockbuster purchase of Wilbur Ross' Homeward Residential, Ocwen (OCN) is reportedly teaming with Walter Investment (WAC) to try and outbid other players for Rescap's mortgage servicing assets. Wilbur Ross - now with a sizable stake in Ocwen - is no doubt pleased. Previously the presumed winner in the race, Nationstar (NSM) is off 1.1% premarket.

Nationstar Mortgage (NSM-9.6%) plummets as Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) emerges as the front-runner in the battle to buy not just ResCap's mortgage portfolio, but its entire operation, reports the NYPost. Nationstar - the mortgage arm of hedge fund giant Wesley Eden - had originally hoped to get all and then at least part of the package.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc is a conglomerate holding company owning subsidiaries engaged in a number of business activities, including property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, finance, manufacturing, service and retailing.